Higher education as a tool of soft power: Kazakhstan case

Abstract

The field of higher education is one of the main instruments of any country's soft power policy. At the present stage of world development, "soft power" under the influence of the globalization process is becoming the main factor of influence. States not only do not enter into global political competition with the power of military, political, and economic resources, but also compete in their achievements in the field of culture, art, science, technology, and education. Therefore, all countries of the world pay attention to the development of education and science. All universities of the world are interested in attracting creative, creative youth. The urgency of the need for intellectual youth is increasing every year. After all, educated youth is the basis of the country's development. Due to the fact that students create the integration of education, the policy of soft power of the state is also implemented through higher education institutions. Creatively thinking, inquisitive, educated youth actively study the language of the visited country, get acquainted with the achievements of science and culture during the exchange of knowledge. Students become valuable social capital of the country in which they study, acquire new accumulated knowledge, connections, a new environment and become effective suppliers of the language and culture of this country. As a result, the role of higher education as a tool of "soft power" turns out to be much higher than in other fields. Therefore, each state implements a policy of soft power through the higher education system. In this context, each State has its own policy and priority strategy.